Chapter 3: Odd objects
Italics – Sesshomaru (or any other persons) thoughts
Bold Italics – Sesshomaru's inner beast
"Inuyasha, are we near a hot springs?" Kagome asked. Inuyasha listened for a moment before nodding to the left and leaping up to sit in a tree.
"Thanks!" She called before grabbing her bag. Sesshomaru watched as she picked up Shippo and handed him over to the slayer then hesitantly walked over to himself and Rin. "Would you like to come bathe with is Rin?" Rin looked up looking for approval. A small nod and 'hm' was all she got before taking off with the miko. While the girls and kit went to bathe Inuyasha collected wood for a fire and the monk set to work setting up camp. Sesshomaru decided to collect some food for Rin and himself.
"Wow." The girls had returned by the time he got back to camp. "You brought a whole feast!" He could sense the miko's amazement. The half breed must not provide much meat. He thought smugly to himself, feeling proud of his ability to be a good provider. He had decided to bring back extra so as not to offend the miko and have to endure a lecture from her.
"The bastards just being a show off. I coulda-"
"Inuyasha, sit!" Sesshomaru watched as Inuyasha slammed into the ground.
The next day was spent walking for the most part. They fought a few smaller demons but they had no luck finding any of the last few shards. A few more days passed in the same fashion before a storm started to roll in.
"We need to find shelter, it looks like a pretty bad storm is coming in." Kagome said wrapping her arms around herself. Inuyasha led the group a little further to a cave. Miroku went to grab some firewood and Inuyasha hunted for food. Inuyasha had been rushing to collect the food not wanting his brother to show him up in front of his own group. Sesshomaru decided to patrol the area for any demons or signs of Naraku.
Night had fallen by the time he got back. Rin and the kit were cuddling up sleeping in the miko's travelling bedding. The slayer and monk were preparing to sleep as well while Inuyasha's wench was pulling out odd things from her bag by the fire. Other than Inuyasha's annoyance no one seemed to mention the hard, scroll smelling, rectangular objects so Sesshomaru decided he'd ask about them later if they got a chance alone. He watched her read and write for an hour or so before Inuyasha wandered off somewhere. Kagome sighed but continued reading.
"Miko." He watched the girl jump at the proximity as she looked up. He had moved beside her to see what she was doing. "Explain this." He motioned to the books.
"Oh, they're school books." His face remained unchanged. "Umm… like scrolls. They contain information and you learn from them."
"Information of what kind?"
"Well this one is languages and this one is math." She said picking up two different books. He grabbed the languages book and flipped through it. One script he recognized as Kanji but the other he had not seen before. He glanced over to find she was watching him. His eyes flicked to the page then back to her. Almost as if she understood, she stared to explain. "The other script is English. It's the other language used in my home."
"How does this English work?"
"Well, it's like our language in a way, same meanings just represented by different characters and words. This book here tells you the word in Kanji and then the English version of it right beside. Then once I've studied this a bit, I have another book back home that shows me how to put the words together so they're useful in a sentence."
"Hm." Sesshomaru took the book from her hand, stood, then moved back to his spot to study the book. This miko is odd. I've never seen this in all my travels. He heard her huff then heard her open another book. Eventually she shoved everything back in her 'yellow book bag' and settled into her 'sleeping bag' with the pups.
Inuyasha didn't return that night which left Sesshomaru a lot of time in silence. At first his thoughts focused on Rin and how easily she let the miko in. She played so trustingly with the miko and her kit, she ate what was given to her from the miko without question, and she had a place in the miko's sleeping pile.
Then his thoughts shifted to the miko. He had definitely misjudged the pack. There was no doubt now that Inuyasha was not the alpha, Kagome was. Over the short few days Sesshomaru had travelled with them he had observed a lot. The miko mad a good alpha; confident, vigilant, concerned with her packs wellbeing, and her rule was final.
He had seen on many occasions her show her confidence. During one battle Tessaiga was knocked from Inuyasha's hand causing him to transform. The miko wasted no time telling the slayer to cover her as she grabbed Tessaiga and raced toward transformed Inuyasha regardless of the danger. As much as it infuriated him he also had to admire when she stood up to himself as well. He'd lost patience with Inuyasha and was ready to fight. The miko stormed up to him getting in his way even though he could easily kill her. She reminded him that he had agreed to behave until Naraku was defeated. When that wasn't enough she gave him just enough of a purifying shock to bring him back down.
She was also very vigilant even though he wasn't sure she was completely aware of it yet. Even when she was distracted, if so much as a twig snapped outside the normal sounds of her group her spiritual power would flare and scan the area. He felt a prickle every time it happened. Once it was satisfied there was nothing there it would return to her person calmly, subconsciously telling her everything was okay.
He could also see the concern she had first most for her pack but also everything and everyone that came in contact with it. The first thing she would do after any fight was make sure all were okay. Usually tending to the physical injuries first, then comforting those that needed it, usually Shippo and Rin. If she thought anyone needed a break from walking or for food she would make everyone stop. It meant Sesshomaru had to stop more times than he'd like but he had agreed to travel with humans. The miko attempted to make him sleep once forgetting that demons needed less rest.
The other big thing he noticed was everyone listened to her, usually unchallenged. The slayer, monk, and kit followed easily and Inuyasha would push occasionally but always ended up giving in. When needed, the transgression Inuyasha committed would dictate the number of 'sits' he received. Sesshomaru had felt her powers flaring angrily a few times but she had chosen 'sitting' as punishment, likely to not inflict serious injury on the half breed.
Sesshomaru's beast growled, momentarily startling him. Our mate. He thought his beast must be going crazy. No way a miko, a human at that, is our alpha female. He argued back. His beast growled but remained quiet. He decided to close his eyes and meditate, imagining the different things his yoki could do.